


The dead weight down

by Whenhopediesyoung



Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: 5 Things, Canon Compliant, Daisy has the brain cell, Developing Friendships, Developing Relationship, Enemies to Friends, F/M, God I love Basira Hussain, M/M, Mild Blood, Weirdly feel good for this fandom
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-28
Updated: 2019-04-28
Packaged: 2020-02-08 15:58:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,442
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18626488
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Whenhopediesyoung/pseuds/Whenhopediesyoung
Summary: Meaning can equal a lot of things. Daisy slowly realizes it's more then one.





	1. Stability

   Alice 'Daisy' Tonner works alone. She's good at it catching (hunting) criminals no matter how many teeth or fingers or crawling worms they have. It was just an off day, and if she didn't really feel upset at having lost her perp (prey), well why should she? Daisy has no reason to stop going after them indefinitely. And yet here she is, newly sectioned partner at her back.

   It's insulting. It's stifling, like someone's locked a collar around her neck. Leaves her feeling even less open to working with anyone. She'd read once, a description that seemed to fit this very context: it made her hackles rise. Enough that Daisy could practically feel a snarl rattling around in her chest. God what she's give to snarl, to speak plainly.

   Her partner has no such troubles. "If it's the hijab, tell me now because I'm not going to stop wearing it." Her voice is even, stern, and her failure to look over at Daisy seems more a reluctance to split her focus then anything. Daisy pulls her eyes from the door. Forces herself to remember how to let the words back out.

   "Just don't feel like I need a partner, is all." She turns her face away from the other woman's profile. "It's been a while since I've had to make sure they were up to scratch." She can see the Hussain nodding, slowly, like her words deserve attention. "Fair enough, I suppose, we'll work up to cordiality then." She says this matter of factly, as if it makes perfect sense to start off rocky.

   Daisy half-laughs inspire of herself. "I suppose we will." She feels something in her relax, just slightly. Nothing wrong with a guiding hand, as long as it doesn't try to pull her away from her actual job.


	2. Camaraderie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Basira meets Jon

   Guilty. That's the first thought in Daddy's head before she even meets the guy. She's right, of course, but that doesn't change the fact that it's there. It has been a lot, this gut feeling of guilt and innocence. Only it's always guilt and it's starting to grate on Basira. She doesn't realize, somehow, that they're always, always guilty.

   So Daisy fiddles with some papers to hide her already made up expression. "What do you think, any leads on the murderer?" Murderer. She likes that word, it tastes like bloody carnage on her tongue. Like steely justice gagging the freaks and monsters that can talk their way past her defenses. It feels right, lined up beside the man's name. Jon Sims, murderer.

   "I think you were right about this being an open and shut case." Comes Basira's reply slow and steady and as calming as a hand resting between her shoulders. It moves the fierce glee into something more stable, able to keep on longer. She loves being able to last longer. "Any chance he gave you a written confession?" She makes sure to look up with a wry smirk, to keep the dead focus off of her face. Not yet. Soon.

   "Why do you say he?" Basira teases back. "Might be a she we're after." It's been a while since it has been; less time since she's gotten one solo. "You're stalling, that sounds like a no." Daisy glaces at her coffee cup as she says as much, frowning at it's congealed contents. She might start (hunting) looking for the person who broke the coffee maker if this keeps up.

   "You're on the money on both accounts." Basira admits. "The archivist was the single most suspicious guy I've interviewed... ever, I think. Even worse then that one guy... Mike?"

   "Matt." Daisy interjects.

   "That's the one. With the Kidney stone murder?" Daisy tries not to look visibly disappointed, he'll be an easy catch then. She raises her voice so Basira, currently hunting for a pen, can hear her. "What do we have on him then?" Her partner pops back into sight to respond. "Nothing concrete, think he's worried about getting caught though." It makes Daisy smile, she loves seeing the fear in their eyes as she draws close.

   "What makes you say that, was he sweating?" She asks.

   "That too, mostly though he asked for the tapes." Basira tells her. "Huh, no signs of prior to death wounds, think he did the deed on tape and forgot which one?" It doesn't fit quite right. "Would be pretty easy, in that place. And besides he can't be that smart, murdering his old boss and stashing her at work." Basira points out pulling a brightly colored sticky note free from it's block to start a list. "Maybe she was a workaholic." Daisy speculates guilty hiding evidence of her last work binge as she does.

   "That's reasonable. And if he lost it that explains why he's always working late." A thought rips Daisy away from mournful images of coffee. "Unless he was visiting the body late at night." She grimaced, revulsion running through her. "We really need to listen to those tapes." She informs Basira, as her friend underlines one of her points with a flourish. "Think we should give him some?" She asks without looking up.

   Daisy forces herself to think it through instead of automatically saying no. "That could work, might keep him from running at least." Her mind churns going over her options. "Tell him our tape players broken, so he doesn't suspect we might hear his confession first." Basira nods, pulling free a second sticky note.

   Daisy stares off into the distance, working out angles of attack, possible rabbit holes she'll have to be willing to follow him through. "We should see if we can find anything on his friends." The loud shriek of a chair has her attention snapping back. Basira smiles at her as if she had no idea where the reaction came from.

   "Dinner?" She prompts, which sounds... amazing actually. "Let's." Pulling the door open she makes a conscious choice to put away all thoughts of murder. Dinner first. She'll need her strength for this.


	3. Simplicity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daisy finally tracks down her prey.

   She hits him first. Drives her fists into his face as he staggers backward. She can feel his fear, can smell it, drawing her ever forward. The monster in the corner of the room stares at her, wide-eyed... with what shock? Horror? It doesn't matter not as the lanky guy falls over, hits the floor with that familiar meaty thump.

   She turns on the other one, the archivist. She should have known better. Should have taken him out before there was another body to bury. Before it claimed another victim. It plays human well enough, shuddering and shaking as if it hadn't caved that old man's skull in. Hadn't kept on hitting in a way that almost resonated with Daisy. Only the monster went after innocents didn't he, not like her at all.

   She's wary, at it's meek, frightened act. Daisy prefers things to be clear cut, upfront, hates masks and lies. She likes the burn in her muscles from fighting and dragging the evidence away, likes the firm scowl that settles immobile on Basira's face. This twitching, untrustworthy, thing sets her teeth on edge. Her hackles up. It makes her feel watched, stalked. Hunted.

   She's not exactly surprised, when it pleads for it's life. Trys to turn her onto someone else. But the feeling that she gets, that he's- it's- telling the truth, that's strange. Almost strange enough to make her doubt her earlier certianty. Absolutely enough to tempt her into going after this new monster. After all, she can always finish this other one later.

   It ends up more complicated than that, naturally. Because Elias won't let himself be hunted. Because Sims is human only not, trustworthy, only really really not. Because Basira is bait and best friend all at once. And because she idoitically ends up hunting the only thing try to save the the entire bloody World.

   But everything falls back into place once Sims comes back. Dressed in the same shirt she saw in her dreams, practically daring her to rip put his throat. Too oblivious to even realize he's doing it. It doesn't matter that he hunted with her (like Basira), that he help her catch sight of the real enemy, that he's trying as hard as she is to stop him.

   He's prey. So she'll play his game, save the World in the process. And then, she'll wait till Basira's distracted, and rip out his throat. Might even do it with her bare hands, the way she's been dreaming of, inbetween horrible nightmares. If anyone deserves it, it's shrinking, squirming, scared Sims. And then, it'll all be over and she can hunt freely yet again.


End file.
